‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ ending explained: did Lucy Gray die?

The Hunger Games prequel movie, The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes is now on Amazon prime and fans are once again discussing the ending – specifically if Lucy Gray Baird dies.

• READ MORE: ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ review: sings a pleasingly familiar tune

In the prequel to The Hunger Games, a young Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) is seen decades before becoming the tyrannical President of Panem. We see him battling his instincts between good and evil as he mentors Lucy Gray Baird in the 10th Hunger Games.

Here’s everything you need to know about the film’s ending.

Who is Lucy Gray Baird?

The District 12 Covey girl (Rachel Zegler) is drawn in the Reaping for the 10th annual Hunger Games. She is mentored by Coriolanus who needs her to win a prize that will pay for his university education after his family loses everything following the end of Panem’s civil war. However, things become tricky when the pair fall in love.

Do we get to understand more about Coriolanus’ motives?

Yes, as we see just where he develops his villainous streak. The film shows how he is plagued by increasing paranoia and becomes devoted to a sinister world view. He eventually betrays those close to him, including Lucy Gray.

Why does Coriolanus betray Lucy Gray?

Eventually he succumbs to his paranoia after being blindsided by his drive and ambition. Following his murder of Mayfair, the mayor’s daughter, he and Lucy decide there is no future for them in District 12 and plan to escape. However, in their journey to the woods he accidentally reveals that he is responsible for three deaths in total – rather than those that Lucy already knows about.

Along the way, he then finds the weapon he used to kill Mayfair and resolves to dispose of it thinking he can return to Panem as a free man. However, as Lucy knows the truth his paranoia grows more severe as he’s convinced she could tell on him.

Next, Lucy disappears collecting katniss plants. He finds an orange scarf he gifted her on the ground and picks it up – but when he does, he’s bitten by a snake. He becomes convinced that Lucy lay this trap deliberately for him and starts firing into the forest.

Did Lucy Gray try to kill Coriolanus?

While he is convinced she did, his paranoia makes it difficult to trust him as a narrator. Her true intentions are never actually confirmed.

The book on which the film is based mentions that snakes are common in the forest where they were, together with the fact that her scarf often came undone, so it could have been an innocent coincidence.

Does he kill Lucy Gray?

No – but he certainly think about it. He hears her singing ‘The Hanging Tree,’ the song she had written after seeing the execution of a District 12 rebel. Flying mockingjays pick up the tune and recite it back to him, infuriating him more. He then opens fire in temper in a circle around him.

In the book, he thinks: “If the Covey found Lucy Gray’s body, they wouldn’t report it. They wouldn’t want the attention it brought. It might connect them to the rebels or reveal their hideout. If there was a body. He could not even confirm he’d hit her.”

However in the film, he eventually leaves Lucy Gray. He disposes the murder weapons, is presumed innocent and returns to District 12. But there is some ambiguity surrounding Lucy as she effectively disappears.

Does Lucy Gray live?

In both the book and the movie, Lucy Gray’s fate is never fully confirmed. It’s possible that she could have been killed by one of Coriolanus’ stray bullets, considering how he angrily fired into the forest where she was last seen. In the film, viewers see Lucy running through the trees – although this is only a brief moment. A body is never found and with her being knowledgeable about the with the woods, this may have enabled her to escape.

By the time the 74th Hunger Games picks up in the film, it’s mentioned that there were only ever two victors in District 12, alluding to the fact people know of Gray. Additionally, the songs Katniss Everdeen sung in the Hunger Games were written by Lucy Gray.

Zegler, who plays Lucy Gray in the film adaptation, has spoken to Bazaar previously about her character. “I always think about what happens to my characters while the credits roll for audiences,” she explained. “When it comes to Lucy Gray, I like to think she’s free. I hope one day I’ll get to hear that from Suzanne, though.”

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